by Pastor Patrick Cho

This morning, we met at 5:00am to climb to the top of Masada. We were told it would take us about forty-five minutes to an hour. It was a good walk just to the base of the hill, and I was already pretty tired. A snake path zigzagged up the side and sadly, I struggled to keep up with an eighteen-year-old girl with asthma. In my defense, I believe I was a bit dehydrated and had a lot of trouble sleeping the night before. Slowly but surely, I eventually made it to the top. (We caught the sunrise about halfway up.)

Masada is a fortress that was built by Herod in the mid-30’s B.C. After the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, during the Jewish-Roman war, some Jewish rebels fled to the fortress at Masada. Eventually, the Roman army built a siege ramp up to the fortress and were able to invade it, but Josephus records that Jews were already dead apparently participating in a mass suicide.

The top of Masada was very impressive. Herod had built a few palaces there, as well as massive cisterns, two swimming pools, and a giant bath house. There were also a great number of store houses. It was said that when the Romans finally took Masada, they discovered enough food and water there for years! It took me over an hour just to walk around to snap pictures of everything. The whole experience was amazing – walking up the hill in the morning, catching the sunrise, and then walking around Herod’s fortress. Instead of walking back down the hill, a bunch of us in the group decided to take the gondola back down. I would have taken the gondola up as well, but then I wouldn’t be able to say that I climbed Masada!

After Masada, we headed to the natural spring of En Gedi. This was the place where David fled to from Saul (1 Sam. 22:29). David found Saul relieving himself in a cave and had the opportunity to kill his oppressor, but did not lift up his hand against God’s anointed king (1 Sam. 23:1-22). The spring was beautiful. It was in a lush and fertile valley with several waterfalls. As we walked along, we were able to see some rock badgers dwelling there. At the end of the trail, some of the guys from our group stood under the waterfall and enjoyed the cool water.

After En Gedi, we travelled to the shore of the Dead Sea. I really wasn’t motivated to swim in it today. Normal ocean water is apparently about 3% salt, but the Dead Sea is about 30% salt. The shoreline is caked with crystallized salt. I have heard that if you do not wash properly after swimming, your whole body itches and gets very uncomfortable. The water can make scrapes and scratches burn and is super painful if it gets in your eyes. Still, it is supposed to be very good for your skin. Many shops in Israel sell products made with Dead Sea salt and mud.

Dr. Grisanti told me I needed to at least try it out, so after some coaxing, I went into the water. We were instructed simply to back into the water and slowly sit down. Once I did this, my feet popped up out of the water and I bobbed along on the surface. I have to admit this was really fun. It required no effort at all. The water just keeps you afloat. I was just getting to thinking, “Hey, this isn’t so bad,” when one of our friends came by and accidently splashed water in my face. My left eye immediately started to burn and I desperately scrambled back to shore to wash up. I had even less motivation to get back in the water, so I headed up to the showers and washed up.

From the Dead Sea, we got a chance to make a brief stop at Qumran. I totally forgot that this was going to be one of our stops, so it was a pleasant surprise for me. Even though it was probably the hottest spot we visited, I was so excited to be there that I didn’t care. We walked around the excavated area to see how the Qumran community lived, and we eventually got a look at (if I remember correctly) Caves 4, 5, and 10. Apparently, Cave 4 was very important because that is where the Isaiah, 1 Samuel, and Jeremiah scrolls were found. It was really exciting to be at Qumran especially since the Dead Sea Scrolls came to San Diego several years ago. I wish we would have had more time, but it was the end of the day and the place was ready to close.

After Qumran, we headed back to our hotel in Jerusalem. It felt like we were returning home since we spent the entire first week in this hotel. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and then headed to the rooms for some rest. Tomorrow is another free day, so hopefully I will be able to wrap up my shopping.